ECOLOGY

Latest News

• March in Dersim against pumice mining project 

  A mass march was held by the Sekasur Environmental and Nature Platform to protest the planned pumice mining project in Dersim’s Hozat and Pertek districts.
• Zeki Irmez: A systematic ecocide is unfolding in Botan 

  Zeki Irmez denounced the state-led deforestation in Botan as a deliberate and systematic act of ecocide.
• Kurdish conservationist Hana Raza receives Wayfinder Award 2025 

  Biologist Hana Raza is honored with the prestigious Wayfinder Award from the National Geographic Society for her tireless efforts to protect endangered species in Iraq and the Kurdistan region.
• Protests against planned mining in Dersim: A deliberate intervention in the collective memory 

  Protests are mounting in Dersim against a planned project to mine pumice and sand. Residents and environmental groups warn of environmental destruction, cultural loss, and the threat of depopulation and have taken legal action.
• DEM Party: We will defend nature against climate destruction and ecocide 

  The Ecology, Agriculture and Animal Rights Commission of the DEM Party emphasized in a statement on World Environment Day, whose theme this year is “plastic pollution,” that they will defend nature against climate destruction and ecocide.
• Villagers protest tree cutting in Beytüşebap 

  Residents of Beşağaç say trees are vital to life and reject the cutting permit issued under the guise of “renewal and security.”
• DBP and DEM Party celebrate Gezi resistance on its 12th anniversary 

  The co-chairs of the DBP and the DEM Party issued statements marking the 12th anniversary of the Gezi resistance.
• Water crisis deepens in Iraq: Lowest level in 80 years  

  Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources has announced that the country's water reserves have fallen to their lowest level in 80 years.
• Drilling in pastureland aims to force local migration 

  Ahmet Fidan condemned oil and mineral drilling in Lice's pasturelands.
• Images of the destruction on Mount Gabar 

  The environmental damage caused by tree felling, mining, and oil exploration on Mount Gabar has been documented.
• TEV-EKO: A people’s struggle for self-defense is taking on a new form 

  TEV-EKO called the PKK congress a turning point and said the people’s self-defense struggle is entering a new phase.
• Entry banned to 13 areas in Şırnak as deforestation continues 

  While tree felling in forested areas in Şırnak continues to cause outrage, the governor's office has banned entry to 13 areas, including the Gabar and Cudi mountains.
• Yanlıç: We are just as opposed to solar plant projects as we are to dams 

  Environmentalist Güner Yanlıç said that they are "just as opposed to solar plant projects as we are to dams."
• Yanlıç: The state enters places in Kurdistan through capital 

  Environmentalist and writer Güner Yanlıç said that in Kurdistan, areas the state could not previously enter are now being accessed through capital investment.
• Amed Bar Association files criminal complaint over fake photos in Solar Power Plant project report 

  The Amed Bar Association has filed a criminal complaint against those who used fake photos not belonging to the project site in the Solar Power Plant project in Cixsê neighborhood.
• Pastures under threat because of fraudulent environmental report 

  Villagers in Kulp protested a solar power plant project approved thanks to a fraudulent environmental report.
• Protest against plans to build a solar power plant in Kulp, Amed 

  In Amed’s Kulp district, protests are mounting against plans to build a solar power plant on communal grazing land. Local residents accuse the construction company of obtaining a permit by means of a manipulated environmental report.
• Village guards cut dow trees in Şırnak countryside under the supervision of the Turkish army 

  Under military supervision, village guards are systematically cutting down trees in the province of Şırnak, destroying not only the environment but also the livelihoods of the local people.
• Road built on Hasandin mountain for military post and mining work 

  A road is being built on Hasandin mountain for a military outpost, but villagers say it is also being used for mining activities and is causing environmental damage.
• The state plunders nature to build a military base in Hesandin amid protests by local people 

  The people in Hesandin region, who fought against mining activities last year, are now fighting against the construction of a military base.
• Ecology Association plants saplings in Sur  

  The Ecology Association planted saplings in Sur together with ecologists coming from France.
• Activists oppose cyanide mine: We will not allow this plunder 

  Activists protested Cengiz Holding’s cyanide-based gold mine, vowing not to give up even a single tree.
• Mesopotamia Ecology Movement: We will work for social peace 

  The Mesopotamia Ecology Movement issued a written statement regarding Abdullah Öcalan’s call.
• Irmez: Gabar Mountain is being devastated 

  A large-scale environmental destruction in Gabar Mountain continues under the pretext of oil extraction. DEM Party MP Irmez said that the oil extracted from Gabar meets only one percent of Turkey’s total energy needs, but the environmental cost is huge.
• Inan: The Turkish state aims to depopulate Kurdistan by destroying nature 

  Amed Bar Association’s Head of the Urban and Environmental Commission, Ahmet Inan, said that mining activities are being used as a means to depopulate Kurdistan and added that silence in the face of this destruction is not an option.